After we reported here yesterday that soldiers on large bases can purchase Internet access from a private contractor for around $70 a month, allowing them to circumvent the Department of Defense's ban of YouTube.com, MySpace.com, and 10 other popular websites from their servers, several readers wrote in questioning why the access is so pricey compared with rates back home. (We're hearing today that the figure is $75 a month.)

Beth in Kentucky asks, "Do the soldiers with Internet access on base know how badly they are being ripped off? $75 for Internet access? My broadband service costs half that. We don't pay them enough to begin with, we give them low-rent hospital care when they come home, and now, we can't even give them a decently affordable internet service? What no-bid contractor got a hold of this one..............

Its a disgrace. And myspace and the sort are most likely banned due to blogging and other things that may compromise military info.

Ding! Ding! Ding! The "overloading the servers" answer is an obvious red herring that the general populace will gladly swallow. The truth is, the powers that be are unable to monitor or oversee what information is being passed back and forth inside and outside the ranks. I'm sure they're almost as afraid of true Military intelligence being leaked as they are embarrassing photos, videos or stuff stemming from troop frustration and/or diminishing morale.

Personally I think it's crappy, but it doesn't surprise me. I know Internet Security guys that have been deployed and "bandwidth" is NEVER their #1 or #10 issue. CONTENT is.

I think they have to pay $75 partly because of the small scale of the operation. What I had seen was small networks of routers. This would require an initial investment. I'd assume there are technical man hours that go in to monitoring the system. If the service originator knows that you will be reselling bandwidth they charge more money. A T1 line 1Mb/1Mb (roughly cable connect w/ faster upload) is $600/month in the US. I can't remember how they get the internet connect satellite or telecom pipe. Both will charge a large fee for salable internet.

That is disgusting. On top of the BS medical coverage they recieve after their service, the BS pay they get for being in a combat zone in the first place, and the BS equipment they're given for protection in that combat zone, I'd say internet access should be provided free of charge. (Unless the government has something to hide, which it obviously does)

I have no source for backup, but I remember hearing that the DoD banned most video sites from the soldiers because of all the insurgent videos where they snipe at soldiers, or blow up soldiers, things like that. The DoD said they didn't want it to lower the morale of the guys over there.